Dragonscale is a fire-oriented auric shield and the only item providing
Hydra oskill.
Paladins using it have no way to improve the
Hydra by synergies, so its damage is going to be much, much lower than a Sorceress'. They can, however, compensate it by
Conviction, after applying which (with
Flame Rift) few enemies will retain high resistance to fire.
With dedicated +skills gear maxing
Conviction is not needed, leaving plenty of skill points and the possibility to make a hybrid build. Since
Conviction is in use, the natural choice is
Fist of the Heavens. Since both
Hydra and FoH are spells, itemization is rather simple, without significant sacrifices needed.
Alternatively,
Dragonscale can be paired with Auradin, although the desired item bonuses don't fit together (+skills/FCR for casting vs damage/AR/IAS for melee attacks).
Regardless of build,
Dragonscale with
Hydra oskill adds variety to them and enables "lazy" gameplay (summon all Hydras before using the main skill).
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